Miami Beach, FL

Winter 2007 - 2008

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In mid-November I returned to Miami Beach.  I had been able to rent the same studio apartment at The Decoplage where I stayed last year, but was dismayed to discover that the condominium’s pool would be closed for the entire season due to refurbishment.  My principal goal in coming to Miami this year is to run the Miami Half-Marathon on January 27th so I quickly developed a training routine, which included running on the beach most mornings, additional cardio workouts in the condominium’s gym a few days a week and working with a new trainer, Jordan, at Hyperfit three days a week.  For my birthday, Jordan and his wife met me at the new Texas de Brazil in Miami Beach for an opulent feast.

On December 21st, I returned to California for Christmas.  I was anxious to see Paul’s new house in Petaluma so we went to dinner there on Saturday night.  On Sunday, Mom, family friend Barbara from Germany and I drove up to Carolyn’s house.  Paul and Dad came the next day as Paul had some work to complete.  We had several family events including Christmas dinner at Rick & MaryAnn’s house in Grass Valley, breakfast at Lauraine’s house in Dutch Flat, and then another Christmas Dinner at Carolyn & Fred’s house on December 26th.  Christine & Eric were also at Carolyn’s house this year with their three children, Jason 4, Tyler 2 and Kayley 3 months, so Ayden had people his own age with whom to play.  On Wednesday night, Santa Claus came and left all kinds of gifts, which we all opened Thursday morning.

I returned to Marin and spent the next week working around my parents’ house.  I harvested most of the fruit on the orange tree and Dad made several batches of orange marmalade.  I built a couple new planter boxes between the existing garden and the water line so he could grow potatoes lasagna style without having the straw spread over the whole garden.  We also got a new Mac computer, which I am sure he will have fun getting to know.

Mom turned 82 on January 10th and I had arranged to take her to Las Vegas to see a couple shows.  Lauraine, Carolyn & Fred also came and we all had a great time based at The Venetian.  They saw ‘Phantom of the Opera’ and ‘The Producers’ while I spent my time either in the gym or gambling, as I had already seen both shows.  Unfortunately I had developed the flu or a severe cold, which I probably caught from one of the kids during the holiday.

Fred & Lauraine left early to return to work, but Carolyn, Mom and I were able to stay in Las Vegas until Monday night.  Carolyn & Mom returned to California while I took the red-eye back to Miami.  The studio apartment I had originally rented had been leased to someone else, so I had to take a one-bedroom unit in the same building.  This apartment has a better view of the ocean and is directly over the swimming pool, which is still closed.  My flu lingered for the whole first week after I returned to Miami, and I spent a lot of time in bed and no time working out. 

The week of the 21st, I finally got back into a routine of running a little each day.  As the day of the Half-Marathon approached, I was secretly praying for rain so I would have an excuse not to run.  I had not run more than 5 miles in over a month, and even that was at a slow pace.  I attended the pre-race health expo at the convention center on Friday where I picked up my bib, shirt and timing chip, which I had already paid for months ago.  As Saturday night arrived, I realized that the alarm clock in the apartment did not work.  I was convinced I would sleep through the 4:00 AM time I would need to wake up to take the first bus to downtown Miami to get to the start in time for a 6:15 AM start…assuming it was not raining.

As it turned out, I woke up at 3:45 AM, looked outside to see stars in the sky, and realized that I would have to run.  I took the bus to American Airlines Arena and joined 10,000 other runners in a very well organized queue to the starting line.  I arrived with about 15 minutes to spare, just in time to hear the start of the wheelchair division.  The gun went off at 6:15 AM sharp and it took me 10 full minutes to cross the starting line.  Organizers had provided everyone with a special timing chip to clip to our shoes, which tracked us as we crossed the starting line, a few checkpoints along the route, and the finish line.  This way everyone has an exact record of how long it takes to run the course, without having to rely on the clock times, which, in my case would be ten minutes greater than the chip time.

Unlike last year when it poured for the first 30 minutes drenching everyone, the weather was perfect.  The course starts in downtown Miami, heads over the MacCarthur Causeway to Miami Beach, up Ocean Drive past my apartment, north to Dade Avenue, back over the Venetian Causeway and finishes at Bayfront Park.  I was amazed at how well I ran.  I had originally thought that with proper training I would be able to run the course in 2 ½ hours.  But my actual chip finish time was 2:13:51, with my clock time about 10 minutes longer.  I felt great after the race and walked a mile over to the Omni Center to get a shuttle bus back to Miami Beach as the regular bus service was still diverted as the causeways were closed.  By 10:00 AM I was back at my apartment.

On February 6th, a security guard at the CVS Pharmacy across the street from my gym was shot and killed by a shoplifter shortly after I left the gym.  I had not been in the store that particular day, but often stop by before or after my workouts.  The shoplifter was cornered by police at a gas station a few blocks away which I cut-through on my way home and killed himself instead of surrendering.

During my last week in Miami Beach there was a major string of storms that moved through the area.  Tornado warnings were issued throughout the whole state, but although the wind was fierce, no tornadoes were reported in Miami.  A small one was reported thirty miles north in Ft. Lauderdale.  The lightening, however, was the most spectacular I have ever seen.  I had gone to bed around 10:00 PM, but large lightening strikes two or three times per minute kept me up past midnight.  When I awoke at 5:00 AM, the storm (or more probably a new one) continued to light up the sky.  The only sign of life on the beach was a platoon of Marines jogging to a cadence in the downpour.

The Miami International Boat Show was scheduled the weekend I left Miami Beach.  I attended the opening day on Thursday and spent several hours wandering around amongst the thousands of yachts for sale.  I think this is the largest boat show in the world as it took up the entire convention center, the parking lot outside, and two large marinas nearby.  I would be more interested in the South Beach Food & Wine Festival, but that is scheduled for next weekend and I will have left by then.

I flew back to California on Friday, February 15 arriving after 9:00 PM.  Lauraine brought Ayden down to visit and we spent the weekend working in Dad’s garden.  On Sunday night I left, headed back to Shanghai.

 

 

 

 

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